Neepawa Tigers outplay Raiders to earn win
- Details
- Published on Monday, February 1, 2016
By Eoin Devereux
The Neepawa Press/Neepawa Banner
The Neepawa Tigers played the role of spoiler this past weekend, severely hindering the Killarney Raiders’ late season push for first place in the Westman High School Hockey League. Three goals in a 2:28 span in the third period catapulted Neepawa Area Collegiate Institute (NACI) to a 5-3 win on Sunday, Jan. 31 at the Yellowhead Centre.
Heading into the regular season showdown against the second place Raiders, NACI found themselves at the bottom of the standings. Despite that disparity in their regular season results, it was the Tigers who proved to be the more aggressive team early, scoring less than four minutes into the first. Bryce Kusugak notched the evening’s opening score. That goal seemed to wake up the Raiders though, as they answered back with three goals before the end of the opening period. That gave Killarney a two goal advantage after 20 minutes of play.
The second period was scoreless, though it did see many quality opportunities created by both teams. In the third, Neepawa started strong and was extremely aggressive in their attempts to climb back into the game. That tenacity paid off, as at 3:49, Will Rainka notched the second of the night for the home side. Less than a minute later, the score was deadlocked at 3-3, with Ben Rainka slipping one past the Killarney goaltender.
Those two quick goals energized both the players and the NACI fans. That energy helped vault the Tigers into the lead, as just 97 seconds later, Neepawa reclaimed the lead with another goal from Ben Rainka.
The remainder of the final period saw Killarney desperately trying to tie things up, but Neepawa’s defence and goaltender Brenden Funk stymied those efforts. An empty net goal with a little over a minute remaining in the period ensured that the Tigers would leave the ice as the better team. Ben and Will Rainka each ended the night with a pair of goals a piece, while Bryce Kusugak had a single.
Neepawa’s victory has severely hampered Killarney’s effort to claim first place in the Westman High School Hockey League, as they have fallen behind the Birtle Falcons by two points in the standings. The Raiders have just one game remaining in the regular season schedule, while the first place Falcons have two left. As for Neepawa, they close out the regular season on Friday, Feb. 5 at the Yellowhead Centre, when they challenge the Major Pratt Trojans. Opening face off is scheduled for 7:15 pm.
